K (i\«i>co^ra^ (A<L/?\N<i/t(i oi/tlie/YW vov^,v\.^m'^. 




Book .'Bxn_ 



ariigion of tl)e Beuoltttion. 



THE RELIGION OF THE REVOLUTION. 



DISCOURSE, 



DELIVERED AT DERBY, CONN., 1774 ; 



DAYID BUOOIS, A. 1., 

UPON THE 

CAUSES THAT LED TO THE SEPARATION OP THE AMERICAN COLONIES PROM GREAT 
BRITAIN 'AND THE ESTBLISHMENT OP A FREE GOVERNMENT. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

PRESS OP CURTIS & BUTTS, UNION OFFICE, MUSEUM BUILDING, EXCHANGE ST. 

1854. 



PREFACE. 



The following Discourse was delivered by David Brooks, A. M., in Derby, Ct., 
in 1174, at the request of his kinsman. Gen. David Wooster, to whose memory 
a monument is now erecting at Danbury, Conn., by the joint efforts and con- 
tributions of the State of Connecticut, flie Masonic Fraternity, and the citizens 
of Danbury. 

To mark the period of this early demonstration from the Pulpit of Xew 
England, it may be observed, tliat it was shortly after the publication of the 
Boston Port Bill, and the assembling of the General Congress at Philadelphia; 
and preceded the first levies of troops from Connecticut, the Battle of Lexing- 
ton, and the stirring events that followed. It was when the necessity of the 
Revolution had been clearly indicated by repeated acts of tyranny and 
oppression on the part of the British Parliament ; when its spirit was rapidly 
spreading throughout the Colonies, and pervading all ranks and conditions in 
life ; in a fearful exigency, in which was involved the Liberty and Happiness 
of the oppressed Colonies ; and in which the Ministers of Religion — rightly 
judging that religious and political freedom were intimately blended, and 
equally concerned in the great contest that was pending — deemed it no per- 
version of their sacred office to espouse the cause of Freedom and the Rights 
of Man. 

I have entitled the Discourse, " The Religion of the Revolution," — a title 
which will be regarded as well chosen, by those who appreciate its able vindi- 
cation of the righteous cause it espoused ; the deep, earnest^ and conscientious 
solicitude of its author to justify the oppressed against the oppressor, by the 
teachings of the Bible. 

The author of this Discourse was " born at Cheshire, Conn., in June, 1144 ; 
graduated at Yale College, in 1765 ; became a preacher of the Gospel, and an 
advocate of the principles of the Revolution. He belonged to the first quota 
of men furnished by the town of Cheshire ; entering the service first as a 
private soldier, but afterwards becoming the Quartermaster of his regiment. 
He was a Member of the Legislature of Connecticut at the period of the 
Burrender of Burgoyne, and a Delegate to the State Convention that adopted 



ir. r RE F A C E . 

the United States Constitution at Hartford. After his first military service, be 
altcruateJ in dischari^iiig tlic duties of a ^Minister of tiie Gospel and those of 
a Soldier ; going out in cases of exigency with his shouldered musket ; espe- 
cially at the burning of Danbury, and the attack upon Kew Haven. After the 
Eevolution, lie retired to his farm in Cheshire, Avhere he died in 1802."* 

The publisher, having nearly arrived at the age of four-score years, has 
caused this Discourse to be put in a more enduring form tlian thai, of the 
marmseri])t in wliich he lias so long preserved it, as one of the last services he 
can render his country and its free institutions ; indulging in the fond hope 
that it may, in some degree, contribute to the history of that glorious Revolu- 
tion to •which we are indebted for the civil and religions liberty we now enjoy, 
and to whidi the world is indebted for an example that may in the end eman- 
cipate it from tyranny and misrule. That it may help to justify the political 
necessity of that great struggle, and sei'vc the higher purpose of enabling future 
generations to realize tlie strong religious faith and zeal of the men of those 
times. V 

The publication is also a tribute to the memory of a Father — a moiety of that 
gratitude which is due for a rich inheritance — the example of his well-spent 
and useful life. And I dedicate the discourse to his and my desceiidantsi 
prayerfully hoping that -whatever fate may be in reserve for that beloved 
country wliich he served so well, they will heed his examples — ^be CnnisxiAxs 
and Patuiots. 

MICAH BROOKS. 
Brooks' Grove, Livingston Co., K". Y., 185-i. 



♦Pioneer History of Phelps and Gorham Purcliase. 



DISCOUliSE. 



" Better is a little, with Righteousness, than great JRevenues without Eight, 
'—Proverbs, Stli Chap., 8th Verse. 

The Author of the Book of Proverbs was a very wise man. He 
diligently appHed himself to search out wisdom and instruction, and 
by his large acquaintance with men and things, he has furnished us 
with a large number of Proverbs, which afford more, yea, itifinitely 
more, instruction than all the writings of the heathen moralists. Solo- 
mon lived in a day that did not abound with light, as these latter days. 
However, by the mere force of genius, he has flung more light and 
instruction into a single page, than is contained in many voluminous 
writings. This Book of Proverbs is a regular and true mirror, in 
which we may discover all the windings, and corruptions, and deceitful- 
ness of human nature ; and it is a safe pilot to steer us to the haven 
of all rest. Every saying is like a gem which draws the attention of 
beholders and brightens up many beauties to view. 

The preferableness of a fair though little inheritance, acquired in the 
path of righteousness, to all the large revenues of the great, procured 
by oppression and injustice, we have ascertained in the text. The very 
notion of oppression and injustice supposes that men have some rights 
which they have a title to. It will not, therefore, be foreign to my 
text to show, 

I. What these Rights are. 

n. How they are infringed upon, or the manner of Oppression. 

HI. Make good the assertion that, Better is a little with Righteous- 
ness, than great Revenues without Right. 

1st. What arc those Rights that mankind are possessed of? Answer 
They may all be included under native rights, and those secured to' 
them by civil compact. To begin with the first, viz : Native Rights 
We have, first, by these, a right to Life. As it hath pleased God to 
give us life', it is our ov/n, and not another's ; and no one has any busi- 



6 

ness to take it away, unless it is forfeited by the law of nature, as it is 
in the case of murder, which that law plainly forbids. I am now 
speaking of those rights we have as we are born into the world, sepa- 
rate from any notions or forms of civil government. And by this we 
have an invariable right to our lives. This blessing is as much our 
own, as our eyes, hands, and feet are, which no one hath any authority 
to take from us. In a state of nature, I have as good a right to take 
away my neighbor's life as he has to take mine, and this may be said 
of every one ; and so this right will run all over the world, and give 
men a mutual right to destroy one another, and root out the whole 
species, which would breed the utmost confusion and discord. But if 
it should be said that the right of judgment, in this case, does not be- 
long to every one, then this will not ensue, as represented on the sup- 
position that every one has a right to judge. But I query what reason 
or law has taken away my right of judgment and transferred it to 
another ? There is manifestly, neither of these to be found in the book 
of nature, or Scripture. And it is truly an odd notion, that some have 
not a right to think and judge when others have. Second : We have 
a right by nature to Liberty. Liberty gives us the right to conduct as 
we choose, without any external compulsion, and to dispose of our prop- 
erty by our own free and voluntary consent, without any external force 
applied for a contrary purpose. Is it consonant with reason, that a 
superior force should dictate my understanding, and prescribe rules for 
me to walk by, enforced by the penalties of stripes, imprisonment, death, 
or whatever they see fit ? If so, then by way of consequence, the popish 
laws are just, and the Jews acted a virtuous part in stoning, slaying, 
and persecuting the prophets, and they are to be applauded for crucify- 
ing the Lord of Life and Glory, since by their external and superior 
force they were able to do these things. But is it right and just for 
some greater power in the state of nature, to tie the aforementioned 
powers up to the same laws by which they are supposed to take away 
my liberty ? Would they in this case plead that they had no title to 
liberty, and that it was just for the greater to deal with them as they 
pleased? We may be assured of the contrary. Third: We have by 
nature a right to Property, The world was made for man to occupy. 
In the beginning, Adam was its sole earthly lord, and it of course fell 
at his decease to his oflspring, and all his descendants have by nature, 



a conjoint interest in it. Were there no such thing as civil governmen t 
we should have a right to some property ; at least we might claim a right' 
to occupy as much unimproved land as should be sufficient to yield u» 
a comfortable subsistence ; for no one in a state of nature, has a greater 
or better title to any part of the vporld than another, unless it arises from 
a prior possession. On account of this, the aboriginals of this land 
continued to hold those lands they improved. But if men in a state 
of nature, have a right to improve and hold certain parcels of land, then 
they have a right to all they can make by the improvement of them ; 
and consequently, no one has a right to take it away, without their con- 
sent, for this would not only be the highest act of injustice, but directly 
contrary to liberty. Fourth : We have by nature, a right to deeds of 
kindness and benevolence. As God hath formed all the nations of the 
world of one blood, to dwell upon the face of the earth, so by that 
natural alliance, they are bound to perform deeds of kindness and be- 
nevolence to one another. They are not made independent of each 
other, but a mutual interchance of kind offices is absolutely necessary 
to their subsistence. And since we have no right to devise the hurt, or 
to take away the lives of fellow beings, we are bound to the preserval of 
them by an exchange of kind and benevolent acts. Misery and want 
are proper objects of compassion, for which reason, we are in holy writ 
commanded to pity the one and relieve the other, if we are able. 
Fellow creatures are capable of joy and grief, rewards and punishment 
they are therefore, in their own nature, fit subjects of kindness andJ 
benevolence. And as it is wrong to wish evil or misery to any, so we 
should wish well and do good to all, and this is what we have a right 
to, by nature, from others. Fifth : We have a right, by nature, to Jus- 
tice and Truth. Since we are so nearly allied to, and dependant on 
one another, injustice and falsehood, if generally and universally prac- 
ticed, would cause the utmost confusion. And as it is, in its own nature, 
sinful to deprive man of happiness, for this reason it is more wicked to 
practice injustice and falsehood, which have a direct tendency to 
destroy that happiness. We forever judge that we ought to be treated 
justly, and that we have a right to it in all traffic, but in exchange of 
circumstances, others may insist upon the same treatment from us, for 
a like reason. And the same may be said with respect to truth, which 
proves that we have a right to justice and truth. If we have not, the 



consequence is, that injustice and falsehood do not imply injury, for if 
we have all our rights, \\c cannot be injured or wronged. But the 
practice of these things implies the greatest injury ; therefore the con- 
sequence is plain that we have a right to justice and truth. 

2d. Those rights that belong to mankind by compact are various as 
the forms of government under which they are included. To point 
out all the rights that belong to every form of government, would re- 
quire more time, and an abler pen than my own. I shall therefore 
point out one or two that belong to our civil Constitution, and proceed 
to the other heads of this discourse. And First: We have a right to 
choose our Legislative body. We have this right as well as favor that 
our Governors are of ourselves, and that our rulers proceed from the 
midst of us. Second : We have a right to tax ourselves, and consult 
our own abilities in it, and the most equitable, equal, and proper method 
to impose and collect taxes to defray the public charges. Third : We 
have a right to make our own laws. Fourth: We have a right to be 
tried in cases that touch both life and property, by our own peers of the 
vicinage. Fifth : We have a right to a full and fair trial with our wit- 
nesses and proofs, and no one can be condemned unquestioned and un- 
heard. Sixth : We have a right to lands, tenements, &c. In fine, we 
have the plighted faith of kings to secure these rights inviolable. 

II. I come now to show How these rights are infringed upon, or the 
manner of Oppression. And as to our native rights, I think it is man- 
ifest they are infringed upon. With regard to our first, viz : our title 
to life, this is threatened, unless we will submit in all cases to the mere 
will and pleasure of the Supreme Court of the nation. And should 
our uneasiness cause us to make any resistance to those appointed to 
carry into execution the laws of the British Court, they have a law 
ready to indemnify them, though they should spill our heart's bloody 
Is not this right, therefore, infringed upon? And that other native and 
precious right of liberty, by Avhich we have a just claim to act and dis- 
pose of our intei-est as we think fit, is certainly encroached upon. For 
notwithstanding all chartered privileges, the Court of Britain claims a 
right, yea, and have passed it into an act, that they have power to tax 
us in all cases whatever. But if this is the case, have we any liberty 
in the matter ? And is not this a direct infringement upon this most 



9 

sacred right of liuman nature ? The same may bo said of our native' 
right to property, by which we have a just claim to our' estates ; and 
for any but a superior force to impose taxes on, or take them from us 
without our consent, is a practical declaration that we have no title to 
them, and it is a flagrant violation of this right which the God of Na- 
ture has put into our hands. Is not this act and many others passed 
in the British Parliament, a violation of this right of property, wherein 
they declare that his Majesty, in Parliament, of right has power to bind 
the people of these Colonies in all cases whatever. And there is an- 
other act for imposing rates of duties in these Colonies. But if that 
Court may impose rates and duties, and bind us in all cases whatever, 
without our consent, then what right have we to property, or the dis- 
posal of it ? It cannot be true that we have liberty and a sole right to 
our property, and yet at the same time others have a right to seize it 
for the selfish purpose of enriching and aggrandizing themselves. Here 
are two opposite rights set up, and it is impossible for both of them to 
be just and good. But we have before proved that we have a native 
right to property, which is confirmed to us by the laws of the land, and 
secured to us by royal grants and charters. Therefore, the aforesaid 
acts of the British Parliament are not only unjust, but a direct infringe- 
ment upon our right to property. Our native right to benevolence and 
kindness shares the same unhappy fate. Can you, my hearers, once 
imagine it to be the genuine and hearty expression of kindness and be- 
nevolence to blockade our ports, deprive us in many cases of trial by 
jury, indemnify those who (as .the affair might happen,) should murder 
us, and openly violate these three sacred and native rights, Life, Liberty, 
- and Property ? I repeat, can you once imagine this to be the proper 
expression of kindness and benevolence ? If so, I should think it 
rather a judgment than a blessing, to share so largely in its exercises^ 
and should deem it an infinite advantage to throw aside my native 
claim to kindness and benevolence. 

But I pass, (though unwillingly,) to add, that our native rights to 
justice and truth, labor under the same embarrassment. We need not, 
it is true, go far from our own doors to discover a violation of these 
rights ; yea, we may, by turning a single thought within our own 
breasts, discover too much of a disposition to abuse them ; and by re- 
flecting back upon our past conduct, we may learn in numberless in- 
2 



10 

stances wherein wc have shamefully violated them. Every act of in- 
justice, and a designed misrepresentation of matters of fact has proved 
us guilty of not giving to our fellow men their just dues. And every 
act of injustice that we have suffered, and all falsities imposed upon us 
by mankind, demonstrate that Ave have not had from them our right- 
eous demands. However, our nation and brethren, according to the 
flesh, eannot with propriety desire us to pull this mote out of our eyes, 
as if they were clear from, or indeed had not a beam in their own. 
Will, or can they insist that it is just, for the act o'f about thirty 
persons, to bring poverty and distress upon so many thousands, and 
claim a sovereign right to dispose of our lives and property as they see 
fit ? To what part of the world have humanity and justice fled, when 
it is judged in the mother country illegal for the Colonists to unite in 
preferring remonstrances and memorials to his Majesty on account of 
our violated rights ? How would that master be looked upon who 
would not allow his servant to ask mercy, or make his appeal to jus- 
tice and humanity for the redress of his grievances ? Would it be said 
that he was just, and did not assume a prerogative that did not belong 
to him 1 I submit the matter to your own judgment. In the mean 
time, I would suggest this to your minds, whether we should credit the 
assertions of the above mentioned powers, together with their master, 
that they sought the good and happiness, and meant to secure the 
rights of all those over whom they exercised this unbounded dominion . 
This, also, I submit to your better judgment. I will, my hearers, add 
but a word or two on those rights we have a title to by compact, since 
this possibly may be disagreeable to some ; yet I would hope better 
things of you, my brethren, and such things as accompany our politi- 
cal salvation, though I thus speak. To what purpose is it for us to 
choose our own rulers, if others have a right to set aside all their laws 
and introduce new ones in their room. And what advantage is it to 
have a right to tax ourselves, if others may draw from us what moneys 
they please ? And what does it profit us to have a right to be tried 
in matters that affect our lives and property, by a jury of the vicinage, 
if we may be transported to England for trial ? And what does it 
avail to have a right to a full and fair trial in all cases, and that no one 
shall be condemned unheard and untried, if others have a right to 
strike off a governmental charter and blockade our ports .by armed 



11 

troops, and all this done without the specious form of a trial with them ? 
And to what purpose is it that we have a right to lands, if it is left to 
the mere will of others whether we shall not, by way of tax, pay their 
real value every year ? And to what purpose is it to have the oaths of 
Kings to secure the lasting possession of native, stipulated, and relig- 
ious rights, if they may establish the popish religion, and by their own 
acts run others through the bowels ? 

III. Better is a little, with Righteousness, than great Revenues without 
Right. The preferableness of a little inheritance acquired in the path 
of righteousness, to great revenues without right, appears first, from 
the nature of things. Wickedness and oppression necessarily carry 
with them wretchedness and guilt. That man who, by oppression and 
tyranny, has many thousand pounds for his revenues, has by way of 
pay, a little hell enkindled in his conscience, and he has dreadful fore- 
bodings. of an infinitely greater to come, into which he is rationally 
convinced a just God will finally cast him, unless he ceases to do evil, 
and learns to do well. Oppression naturally carries with it the ill will, 
and often the curses of the oppressed, upon the oppressor. And this 
tends to make his life uncomfortable, which feeling the oppressor many 
times endeavors to throw off" by high dishes and flowing bowls, and 
by drowning his wretchedness, he may for a space escape it ; but then 
at the return of his sober moments, it wall seize him with more inten- 
sity. Sinning in order to escape wretchedness, is like throwing on fuel 
to quench a raging flame. It is quite impossible for human nature to 
rest easy under a sense of universal disapprobation. But a little, though 
fair inheritance, acquired in the path of righteousness, is in its own na- 
ture, free fi-om all these miseries. He who maintains a conscience void 
of oflfence towards God and man, feels happier when feeding upon a 
coarse and homely meal, than the richest oppressor on the face of the 
earth ; therefore better is a little with righteousness, than great reve- 
nues without right ; and the same truth appears from the good ef- 
fects which will follow in a future life. That poor person who is right- 
eous ila the possession of his little, is entitled to an inheritance in the 
future life that is incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away ; for the 
righteous shall inherit the kingdom of God. And this is infinitely 
better than large possessions on the earth, acquired by fraud and oppres- 



12 

«ion. Tho grandeur, riches, and honors of this life, will never save a 
man in the coming world, if he has ever so great revenues, without 
right. It will be no plea for favor at the bar of God, but on the con- 
trary, if he dies impenitent, and without making restitution to those 
whom he has oppressed, he must lie down iu everlasting sorrow ; and 
then what will it profit him though he has gained the whole v'orld, or 
what shall he give in exchange for his soul ? But the righteous, at the 
day of retribution, shall go into life eternal ; therefore, better is a little, 
with righteousness, than great revenues without right. It matters not 
whether we are jDOor or rich in this world ; at longest, our stay is but 
very short. Time, as to us here, is nothing in comjjarison with eterni- 
ty. There is ten thousand times the disproportion between them that 
there is between a drop of water and the ocean, a grain of sand and 
the globe, or a single particle and the universe. Into the boundless 
eternity will the poor righteous man and the rich oppressor enter. The 
latter, with Dives, Avill awake in hell torments, Avith not a drop of wa- 
ter to cool his tongue, and God will pour down upon him the vials of 
his wrath, which will fill him with inconceivable anguish, and the 
smoke of his torment will ascend forever and ever. But the righteous 
man, when he enters into the invisible world, will be carried safe to 
Abraham's bosom, and an eternity of joy and delight will oj>en to his 
view. The duration of his blessedness will know no end, and the de- 
gree of his happiness will be perfect. Now, which is to be preferred ; 
a perfect degree of happiness, of endless duration, or a perfect degree 
of misery and the everlasting continuance of it? As Heaven is to be 
preferred to Hell, endless and perfect happiness ^o complete and eter- 
nal misery, the society of Angels to the company of Devils, the songs 
of tho blessed to the cries and bowlings of the damned, so much bet- 
ter is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. 

First, we learn from this subject that men should take more pains to 
acquire godliness, than great riches or revenues. The nature of things 
teaches us, and also the blessed fruits of righteousness in a future life, 
that a little acquired in the paths of righteousness is better than great 
revenues. It is the part of wisdom to take the most care and pains to 
acquire the greatest good. And that interest which is a mere nothing 
in comparison with another, should employ but little of our care in 
comparison with that which excels. Would it not be a piece of mad- 



13 

<ness for us, if we possessed large revenues, and had employed force to 
■draw them from the poor, by oppression, to prefer this to a little ac- 
quired in the path of righteousness, and thus finally lie down in sorrow ? 
Most assuredly it would. If so, then we should take more pains to ac- 
quire righteousness, than great revenues. Second : This subject 
teaches us the great and amazing hazard men run, out of love to this 
world. Mankind, (at least many of them,) out of love to the world, 
will lie, cheat, oppress, murder, rob, and break over the native rights 
of man, and violate the civil compact, even at the risk of their im- 
mortal souls. I conclude with this observation: Into what fearful 
depths of wickedness will not the love of money lead its deluded 
devotees ? 



k 



